Sports of The Times A Decade of Sins Deserves a Year Out By HARVEY ARATON Published: May 9, 2008 What an extensive video library Bill Belichick turns out to have produced. Eight more spy tapes sent to N.F.L. headquarters for Commissioner Roger Goodell?s viewing pleasure by a former student in the New England Patriots? film noir studies program. Who knows how many more taped over or discarded over the last eight years? Imagine the documentary possibilities for those talented folks at NFL Films, provided Goodell hasn?t already tossed the evidence into the fireplace with Tom Brady-like precision in a reprise of his mysterious spin cycle last fall. Now that the ?totality of conduct? for which Belichick was cited by Goodell has officially expanded to the length of his tenure in New England, shouldn?t he be further punished as a serial offender, a con man who not only broke the rules but established secretly taping opponents as standard operating procedure? ?If your wife cheats on you once, maybe you can forgive her, but if she cheats on you over the course of your entire marriage, that becomes unforgivable because she has flouted the rules, shown no respect for your marital contract,? said Sharon K. Stoll, director of the Center for Ethics at the University of Idaho and the author of ?Sports Ethics: Applications for Fair Play.? ?That is apparently what happened in this case, a disregard for the organization and its rules and it?s a big mess that the N.F.L. has on its hands because this coach happens to be an American icon, a man who has had a book written about him by David Halberstam,? Stoll said. ?The league has to stand up and make a strong statement because the last impression it wants to leave is that this particular coach was above those rules.? Let me digress before explaining why I believe Belichick should now be barred from coaching the Patriots for one season, on top of the $750,000 in fines and the forfeiture of a first-round draft pick levied on him and the Patriots by Goodell last fall. (The money was the equivalent of a parking ticket and the draft pick not all that punitive in a year when the Patriots also had the 10th pick, from New Orleans). In another context, I would gladly concede that my proposed punishment falls well short of fitting the crime. Espionage in a sport played and promoted as recreational warfare would seem to be a natural extension of the competition. Defending one?s team against it would require nothing more complicated than what a third-base coach does, disguise his signals, in full view of an entire ballpark six or seven times a week. But these are the rules set forth by the N.F.L., enforced by Goodell and reportedly reinforced in a league memo sent to the teams in 2006. To which Belichick at the very least responded by videotaping the Jets in the 2007 season opener that touched off the so-called Spygate affair, now encapsulated in its own online entry of the same name on Wikipedia.org. In other words: embarrassment to the league in perpetuity, courtesy of its team of the decade and reigning coaching genius. As rumors of additional tapes circulated before the Giants crushed the Patriots? dream of a perfect season in Phoenix last February, including one of a filming of a St. Louis Rams pre-Super Bowl practice in 2002, Goodell made a point of saying, ?It was not something that was done on a widespread basis.? Already you get the idea he wants everyone, especially the crusading Senator Arlen Specter, to believe there is nothing in the newly submitted tapes that Belichick hasn?t already detailed, as if all of this was already on the table for public inspection. The good news for Goodell is that the Patriots? former video coordinator Matt Walsh apparently did not have the aforementioned tape that would have tainted at least one of the three Super Bowls claimed by Belichick?s Pats. But the real news here is, again, the establishment of Belichick?s cheating then (2000 to 2002), now (last season) and if we may extrapolate based on reasonable cause, in all likelihood in between. His explanation, his word, on this matter means as much as Roger Clemens?s on family values. ?There obviously has been some lying going on ? ?oh, we did it once; we misinterpreted the rules, we didn?t mean to,? ? said Stoll, the ethicist. As a liar and a cheater, what separates Belichick on the grand behavioral plane from your basic synthetic warrior who gets suspended four games when he produces a dirty test? Augmented by logic, the facts suggest Belichick has been cheating for almost a decade. And since replacing Paul Tagliabue, Goodell has fashioned himself the zero-tolerance commissioner, cracking down hard on those ? players, that is ? who would compromise the runaway popularity of the league with antisocial acts. Shouldn?t that policy be applied even more stringently to those in control? ?They need to send a message here,? Stoll said. One year out. Then let?s see Belichick dare spy again in 2009.
Dude, its over. Walsh had nothing new. No one hates BB more than me but no way does the NFL do anything with this latest crap.
Klecko don't get mad at wismer for reporting an article from the times. besides I feel that there is more information in those tapes than some people recognize. They literally reported the Pats cheated in an AFC championship game to get into the Super Bowl. So I don't know how the rest of the peoples perceptions of this go, but to me it seems a pretty educated guess to say they cheated in the Super Bowl as well. Also does anybody remember the year the Pats won their first superbowl? those odds were insane, the CPU generated programs has the odds at 100-1 in favor of the Rams. Also I remember that they were phenomenal underdogs... so maybe because they were huge underdogs they succumbed to temptation and cheated in the Super Bowl? and ever since then they feel like they needed the tapes to suceed, so they kept cheating. And I agree with the Times on this one. If you cheat for 10 years and there is clear proof, evidence beyond all reasonable doubt that can not be refuted (steroid guys are being punished with way less proof than the Pats have against them) But I agree it is about to be swept under the rug by the NFL....
They were filmed from the sidelines during the game. That right there is against league rules. The taping and viewing of said tapes gave them an unfair competitive advantage. As I pointed out in another thread Beli's HC record pre 2000, was around 36-44 after the taping started he suddenly became a supra genius and his record is 106-41 for those years.
Let me understand this: He cheats for 8 years, has a 106-41 record, wins multiple super bowls and all they get punished is a 1st round pick, next to last in first round (while keeping the #7 pick) and what amounts to a parking ticket? Sign me up for that any day of the week.
I don't understand this whole "its nothing new" argument. They basically videotape about 11 teams, this is new too me. Also they were taping offensive signals from two angles also new too me. What am I missing here? I love how the media just down plays it, if they go 6-10 or worst this season It'll be really fishy IMO.
i hate belichick as much as the next person, but tom brady plays for the patriots and has as much to do with their record since 2001 as their coach.
How about the fact that a 6th round pick is so good after finding out they had all the defensive signals? I'd venture to say many QBs could be better with such information.
You are right he does have just as much to do with their record as Beli. He was told what defense was coming and adjusted accordingly. So they are both tainted equally.
Here's why you can't count on the NFL to regulate itself: It, like the Pats, has a vested interest in saying "nothing new here." The commish, his lackey spokesman Greg Aiello, and many of the owners primarily want to protect the NFL as a business. That is why they would love it if everyone "moved on" and forgot about this. Think about this in another context. Would anyone here think it would be a good idea for McDonald's, for example, to be the only entity to assess punishments against one of its franchises for illicit behavior? Of course not, because it would be transparently clear that the company would be primarily concerned with protecting its brand. That's why Specter is getting involved. He knows the fix is in if he doesn't keep on this issue. All of you who are saying "nothing's new here" need to stop drinking the NFL/Belly Kool-Aid. Do you accept similar spin from politicians when they try to cover up their misdeeds? I hope not. There IS something new here. Walsh HANDED them to the NFL; they are the tapes that further document the extent of the Pats' cheating, including in the playoffs. TBTF
Then I figure with the new radios installed in defensive helmets should make Brady effectively awful this year? I can only wish. The reality is that Brady is a HoF qb and will likely have a great season again this year.
It might not make him awful but it will level the playing field a little. Lets keep in mind that they were cheating since he became a starter.
Did you see Tom Brady this year, the ball never hit the ground. I dont care if you knew the defensive signals every time, the dude has straight up talent. Belicheck cheated and was caught. Now they payed thier price, however limited. Its time to move on.
This is the part that jumped out at me because it speaks to everything Goodell stands for since becoming commissioner. He has acted accordingly with giving out punishment to players that deserve it. Although Belichick has already been reprimanded, it was only for spying on the JETS. It was only for ONE GAME and supposedly whatever Belichick had said. So the fact that there is nothing new here is irrelevant in my mind because he has been doing this for 8 years, but that is anyone's guess.
thats actually untrue. When the pats turned over the tapes, Goodell knew that they had been cheating all the way back since 2000.
He should be banned from coaching in the NFL again. He knowingly broke the leagues established competition rules, which clearly state (and stated) that no taping of the other team's signals is to be done during a game or at any other time. Whether this contributed heavily to the Patriot's dominance is unknowable, however the fact that it was occurring and that they became dominant during that span has to be taken into consideration. I'm with most of you in thinking that this will get swept under the rug, but it's done it's damage already in terms of the NFL's image (like steroids did to baseball) and nothing is going to change that at this point.
true, but don't you think they stopped with the cheating after the Jets game last season? And then ran off 17 more wins, in a row. I mean, come on, I hate them as much as anyone, but 17 wins in a row, while under scrutiny and definitely not cheating, is a damn good team. The fucks.
No one is trying to take away that they are good. Just not as good as the record suggests. Keep in mind that they were able to get some players well below what other teams would have had to pay because of their past record. I mean how many other teams could have got Moss to agree to a 1 year contract for $3 mil. This helped to keep their cap down so that they could retain other players. Also the advantage from the taping did not stop once the tapes were confiscated. Beli had knowledge of tendencies for many if not all of the coaches in the league above what other coaches may have had because of the use of the tapes. This may not have been a huge advantage but when you start adding up all the little advantages it amounts to something. Once again I will state that they are good but I think this year will be a good barometer of how much the cheating helped them. Then we will be able to make a better judgement.
